Elizabeth f



( M del.) Decd 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

, E. F. COFFIN, Executrix.

APPARATUS FOR COATING WIRE. No. 451,220. Patented Apr. 28, 1891.

(No Model.)

J. COPPIN, Decd. E. F. COFFIN, Executrix.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

APPARATUS FOR COATING WIRE. No. 451,220.

lllll 1 Patented Apr. 28, 1891.

NITED STATES FFICE;

(EXEOUTRIX OF SAID JOHN OOFFIN, DECEASED) ASSIGNOR TO CAM BRIA IRON COMPANY.

T HE

APPARATUS FOR COATING WIRE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 451,220, dated April 28, 1891.

Application filed May 20 l 8 8 9 To all whomt't may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN OOFFIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Johnstown, in the county of Oambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Coating ire; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

In the art of coating wire with metal, commonly called galvanizing, the wire passes through several tanks and baths, and to properly direct it through these tanks guides have to be arranged which deflect the wire at several points. These deflecting-guides cause considerable tension on the wire, and the total resistance is not the sum of the several resistances due to drawing over defiectingguides, but is their product. Therefore where many baths are used and there are consequently many deflecting points the force required to draw the wire through this system is so great as to cause serious trouble.

My invention relates to means for overcomin g the difficulties which have arisen from the severe tension of the wire; and the object of my invention is to cause the wire to be drawn through the tanks easily and prevent the several resistances due to changing the direction of the wire over the guides from being multiplied by each other. I accomplish this object by interposing between the acid bath and the metal bath a pair of driven rolls, around which the wire passes. These rolls are driven with a peripheral velocity greater than that of the wire in passage, and thereby aid the passage of the wire.

To make my invention more clear, I will now refer to the annexed two sheets of drawings, which form part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my invention; Fig. 2, a front elevation of the same in part; Fig. 3, a plan of myinvention,

' and Fig. 4 a diagram showing the manner of location and operation.

Like letters of reference refer'to like parts throughout.

Serial No. 311m (No model.)

A represents a foundation-plate. B B are standsbolted on the foundation-plates. These stands support in suitable bearings (indicated by b) the shafts of two driven rolls. These rolls are represented by O O. The shaft of the rolls 0 is prolonged to receive on one end the pinion I) outside of the bearing Z). The shaft of the roll 0 is prolonged at one end to receive the pinion D, which engages with the pinion D, and it is farther prolonged to receive thed riving-pulleyE and still farther prolonged to have the bearing f in the bracket F, the bracket F being bolted to the foundationplate A.

Referring to Fig. 1, the position of the two rolls is clearly shown, the arrows indicating their direction of revolution. T represents the wire in transit, the arrows indicating the direction of motion.

Referring to Fig. at, G represents an acidtank, and g a sandstone guide for the wire, commonly called a sinker.

H represents the driving mechanism which has just been described.

K represents a preheating-furnace, which is sometimes used to heat the wire prior to its entrance into the coating-metal.

L represents a bath of coating-metal, andl the sinker or guide for the wire in this bath.

R represents a reel for receiving the wire driven in the direction of the arrow.

1 do not limit myself to the exclusive use of such a reel for receiving the wire, as it may be led from the bath L to another machine or device, if necessary; or it may be led in. a straight or broken line by power or otherwise, or in other suitable manner, whereby the wire is caused to travel through the various devices at a speed less than the surface speed of the driving-rolls.

The manner of operating my invention is as follows: Referring to Fig. 4, represents a wire in position through the acid bath, the driving-rollers, the preheating-furnace, and the coating-bath. The wire travels in the direction of the arrows, and the driving-rollers revolve in the direction of the arrows, the velocity of the wire being exceeded by the peripheral velocity of the rolls. e will suppose a force to be acting on the wire at w in the direction of the arrow. Aft-er overcoming the resistances of the bends through the coating-bath L some tension will be caused at the point to. This tension tightens the wire on the surface of therolls. and this surface being driven faster than the wire is moving causes friction, which assists in moving the wire along and in drawing it through the acid bath G. To illustrate: No matter what the resistances at the various points may be, with a fixed amount of angular contact with the driving-rolls and a constant coefficient of friction the tension on the Wire at the point at will be a constant ratio to the tension at 11). Suppose this ratio be four to one. Then if it requires a force of four pounds applied at 10 to move the wire in the direction of the arrow, a force of onepound applied at to will tighten the wire enough on the rolls to cause the friction of the rolls, together with the pound force applied at w, to exert a force on the Wire equal to four pounds at the point indicated by 10 A single roll may be used by giving the wire one or more turns around this roll. I do not favor this construction, because the wire is apt to become tangled by the ingoin g coil riding upon the others. However, I wish my invention to embrace this modification, and when Ispeak of a pair of rolls I consider a single roll with one or more coils of wire around it to be an evident mechanical equivalent.

Having fully described my improvement and the manner of operating the same, what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In an apparatus for coating wire with metal, the combination of a tank for acid,a tank for molten metal, means for conveying the wire at a predetermined velocity through the tanks,

JOHN (1O FFIN.

Nitnesses;

E. J. BURKHART, II. A. SHIELDS. 

